News

Two members of the Electricity Authority have been reappointed, Energy and Resources Minister Phil Heatley announced today. David Bull and Roger Sowry have both been reappointed for five years, effective 1 June 2012. “Both have served on the Electricity Authority since its...

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Fees being introduced for civil disputes in the Family Court will help to better focus its resources, Courts Minister Chester Borrows said today. The new fees are only for applications for division of assets and child care arrangements and come into effect on 1 July 2012. Mr Borrows said...

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An increase to parental leave payments will put more money in the pockets of young families, Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson says. On 1 July the maximum parental leave payment available to eligible employees and the self-employed will increase from $458.82 to $475.16 a week. The minimum...

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Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson and Environment Minister Amy Adams will consider a new report that challenges law makers to think about issues such as the trade-offs between renewable energy and wild and scenic rivers. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright has released...

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The New Zealand Defence Force is assisting the upcoming June election in Papua New Guinea, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully and Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman announced today. “Following a request from the PNG government, New Zealand will support the local authorities in the...

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Police Minister Anne Tolley has today officially opened the new Otahuhu police station in Counties Manukau. The $8.6 million facility is the second new station to open in Counties Manukau this month, closely following the new $10.2 million Police headquarters at Botany. “This is yet...

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Commerce Minister Craig Foss today welcomed targeted consultation ahead of the introduction of new measures to rein in unsolicited ‘predatory’ share offers. “Predatory or low ball offers are not only a risk to those they mislead, they also weaken the trust investors have in...

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An environmental organisation may turn to European courts for a ruling on whether Britain acted illegally when it decided to delay cleaning up air pollution in British cities by over a decade. While accepting that Britain had been in breach of obligations to ensure nitrogen dioxide air pollution...

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A brief history of the highest appellate court in England, beginning in 1399, when the House of commons stopped considering appeals for decisions of lower courts to be reversed, leaving the House of Lords as the highest court of appeal.Fast forward to Easter 2012 when Lord Sumpton predicts an...

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The New Zealand Law Society says Government proposals to change the law on prison strip searching are unnecessary and would decrease existing controls on a procedure which must be closely regulated. The Law Society has presented its submission on the Corrections Amendment Bill to...

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The New Zealand Law Society's Family Law Section has sent an email to all New Zealand family lawyers advising them of measures being taken to address issues arising in the Auckland Family Court due to the centralisation of court services. Family Law Section chair Garry Collin says the advice...

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The Ministry of Justice’s proposed Legal Aid Disbursement Policy Review consultation paper raises concerns that it will be applied inflexibly to Waitangi Tribunal cases, the New Zealand Law Society has said in its comments on the paper. The Law Society says the proposed policy appears to...

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The New Zealand Law Society supports the addition of a requirement for gender diversity disclosure to NZX’s Market Rules for the Main Board/Debt Market. Releasing its comments on proposed changes to the Rules, the Law Society says it supports the proposal to amend Rule 10.5.5 by adding a...

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Local Government Minister David Carter is to appoint a review team to assist the Kaipara District Council. “It has become apparent that the Kaipara District Council is dealing with some serious issues that it cannot cope with alone,” says Mr Carter. “The Council has sought...

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Child Youth and Family has been asked to urgently investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a child who was suffocated by his intoxicated mother. Ngaire Tukiwaho was today sentenced in the Rotorua High Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter of her two-month old Tahi Elvis...

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A new government data-matching initiative has collected over $16 million in hard-to-catch fines in its first seven months, Minister for Courts Chester Borrows announced today. The amount collected is already more than the $15.6 million targeted for the first full year of the initiative. The...

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Justice Minister Judith Collins today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Australia governing a trial of reciprocal sharing of criminal history information for employment vetting purposes. The six month trial will test and develop sustainable solutions for trans-Tasman information...

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The Auditor-General, Lyn Provost, has decided to carry out an inquiry into the decision by the former Associate Minister of Immigration, Mr Shane Jones, to grant citizenship to Mr Yong Ming Yan (also known as Yang (Bill) Liu). The inquiry will examine: the policies and...

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Monsters are born, not made: the latest round in the debate about criminal responsibility questions the very existence of intuitive morality The US neuroscientist Sam Harris claims in a new book that free will is such a misleading illusion that we need to rethink our criminal justice...

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Ken Clarke has admitted plans to allow evidence to be given in closed proceedings in cases where it affects national security are "less than perfect" but insisted the only alternative would be "silence". The Conservative justice secretary has dropped plans to...

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Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully today announced the appointment of ambassadors to Thailand and Viet Nam and Consul-General in Shanghai. “Asia is a vitally important region for New Zealand and we are actively seeking closer relationships to ensure business and economic...

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The number of people being prosecuted and sentenced in court has continued to decline in 2011, new statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show. Justice Minister Judith Collins says the numbers, which are published annually on the Statistics New Zealand website, show progress is already...

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Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has announced a major restructure of the Families Commission. “The way the Families Commission works is going to change.” The Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor Professor Sir Peter Gluckman has identified a gap in monitoring,...

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The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has today released a final version of its guidance note on KiwiSaver performance fees. The guidance sets out the criteria against which FMA will assess the reasonableness of performance fees, which are fees charged to an investor when an investment manager...

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The Financial Markets Authority today welcomed the guilty plea of a director of Belgrave Finance. Shane Joseph Buckley, a director of failed finance company Belgrave Finance Limited (In receivership and In liquidation),  pleaded guilty to 25 charges laid by the Financial Markets Authority...

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Plans to strengthen and refurbish the Masterton courthouse, which will see it return to operation by April next year, were announced today by Minister for Courts Chester Borrows. “The Masterton courthouse has one of the highest workloads of the temporarily closed courts, so reopening it...

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The Domain Name Commission is proposing to extend the .nz domain name space by allowing anybody to register domain names at the ‘second level’.  This has the potential to significantly alter New Zealand’s domain name space so it’s important we get your views. Key...

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The Government’s new smartphone and tablet app for Budget 2012 was downloaded more than 8,600 times and was New Zealand’s most popular free-download app on Budget day, Finance Minister Bill English says. The Budget App, called NZ Budget, allows users to read the Budget speech and...

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Submissions may be made on the following Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Covered Bonds) Amendment Bill: 3 Jul 12 Bail Amendment Bill: 29 Jun 12 Administration of Community Sentences and Orders Bill: 22 Jun 12 Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill:...

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The New Zealand Bar Association is presenting a seminar called "Tricks of the Trade - Criminal" in Wellington on 13 June 2012. This seminar will be of interest to litigators at any level and will cover advocacy from the perspective of the Bench and Bar. Topics include:...

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Latest NZLS submissions include: Income tax - whether residual land is part of an undertaking or scheme of development or division of land, 18 May 2012 Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (2012 Expiry and Application Dates) Amendment Bill, 11 May 2012...

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The Financial Markets Conduct Bill is a wholesale review of the legislation underpinning New Zealand’s financial markets and will have a significant impact on business and the economy, says the New Zealand Law Society. Given the post-GFC litigation still working its way through the...

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Haldane prison in Norway ir possibly the most humane prison in the world. Prison guards deliver heart shaped waffles and coffee to inmates in the sex offenders wing. The prison is quiet without the yelling and persistent banging of doors which can be heard in British prisons. And the governor...

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Criminal barristers in the UK are threatening to strike over legal aid reform. The head of the Criminal Bar Association is believed to be gearing up to accuse the government of duplicity. Criminal fees have repeatedly been frozen and then cut by 13.5% by the last Labour government and again by a...

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The recent spate of trials of former heads of state demonstrate the need for an international judiciary, which has been 100 years in the making. The new international courts, such as the International Criminal Court, are necessary appendages to police the global rules that are needed for the...

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The Financial Markets Authority has today published draft guidance for public consultation on the disclosure of non-GAAP financial information. FMA consultation on disclosure of non-GAAP financial information (22 May 2012) One of the most common forms of non-GAAP financial information is...

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The Auditor-General has released its summary of its fraud survey results for Crown research institutes, Autonomous Crown entities, Crown agents or companies, Independent Crown entities, and Central government.The Auditor-General commissioned a survey on fraud awareness, prevention, and detection...

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Police Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill that clarifies the definition of military style semi-automatic firearms (MSSAs), and places controls on the importation of airguns that look like real pistols, MSSAs or restricted weapons has passed its second reading in Parliament. The Arms (Military...

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Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain has applauded the work of the Department of Internal Affairs censorship team for its latest worldwide sting tracking offenders trading in images of child sexual abuse. Operation Laminar has caught 55 people distributing child sexual abuse pictures. Some...

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The Government is to streamline the application process for legal aid lawyers and extend the length of time they have to claim payments for work done, Justice Minister Judith Collins announced today. From 2 July, legal aid lawyers will have six months rather than the current three months to...

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Environment Minister Amy Adams today released a discussion document on proposed regulations for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Continental Shelf Bill which provides stronger protection for New Zealand’s marine environment. The legislation, currently before Parliament, supports New...

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The Commerce Commission has put personal tax summary intermediaries (PTSIs) on notice that they may be failing to meet their obligations under the Fair Trading Act. PTSIs are a type of tax refund agent that process income tax refunds for salary and wage earners. They typically offer their...

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Consumer Affairs Minister Simon Bridges says good progress is being made towards a wheel clamping code of conduct, following a meeting with industry operators today. Mr Bridges says the key operators in the New Zealand parking enforcement industry have agreed on a draft set of minimum...

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The roots of the various UN-backed special courts and tribunals are considered in this article from the Guardian. They were built on a 19th century concept of regulating the rules of war and international disputes. Prior to the establishment in 2002 of the international criminal court, specialist...

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"The problem with campaigns against political correctness is that the people who front them always sound like cocks. I hope they won't be offended when I say that. Not because I am afraid I might be arrested, just because they would get a kick out of it." The Feel Free to Insult Me...

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The New Zealand Bar Association is offering a seminar in civil litigation next Tuesday, 22 May 2012. The Association says the seminar will be of interest to litigators at any level and will cover advocacy in the civil context from the perspective of the Bench, Bar and experts. Speakers include...

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The Commerce Commission has completed its investigation into the joint venture between Television New Zealand Limited (TVNZ) and Sky Network Television Limited (Sky) finding the pay TV market will not be less competitive as a result of the venture. In November 2011, TVNZ entered into a joint...

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Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson has announced a package of measures that will extend workers’ rights to request flexible working hours and ensure a fair and flexible collective bargaining environment. The changes include: A return to the original position in the...

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Tintin's adventures in the Belgium courts have ended in freedom for Tintin and disappointment for a man who sought to ban the continued publication, distribution and sale of the books. A Congolese national had sought the injunction on the grounds that the publications banned Belgium's anti racism...

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Four outstanding members of the in-house legal profession were acknowledged at the 25th annual CLANZ conference in Queenstown on 11 May 2012. CLANZ, the in-house section of the New Zealand Law Society, awarded prizes for top in-house lawyers in the private, public, community and youth...

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